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PREACH IT! Know what, Whoopi? Gloria Allred is right

August 9, 2010 | 4:09
pm

And in our main tent: Gloria Allred versus Whoopi Goldberg in a debate over battered women -- with Allred cleaning Goldberg’s clock.

When Goldberg first showed up on "The View", the big question was which side she’d support: the dingbat Sherri Shepherd/Elisabeth Hasselbeck bloc, or the faction chaired by Joy "Who Cares?" Behar. Turns out, neither was correct. Goldberg actually belongs to a third column -- rich, famous, out-of-touch people whose grandees include folks such as Mel "You Deserved It" Gibson.

Goldberg’s latest gaffe came last week, when the executive vice president from gossip site RadarOnline came on "The View" as a guest. The hosts asked David Perel why Gibson’s ex ...

There is indeed something very hinky about Grigorieva; would anyone really be surprised if it turned out she was pushing Gibson for more cash and even stretching the truth? But the fact that Goldberg is so ignorant about how domestic violence works indicates she may need to breathe some less rarefied air.

Attorney Allred has written an open letter to Goldberg pretty much saying just that. Allred lists all the reasons why women may not report abuse -- you can read them all here -- and then concludes with the following:

"No victim of an alleged batterer should ever be blamed for not calling the police immediately. ... Life as a victim of violence, particularly where there are children is difficult and complicated enough without being publicly attacked and having their motives questioned because they failed to immediately report to law enforcement.

"Whoopi, as we say in the domestic violence movement, there is no excuse for abuse. To that I will add there is also no excuse for others who do not know all of the facts to join in with a verbal attack on the victim."

Allred may have her own ulterior motives -- she loves a camera almost as much as Goldberg -- but when she’s right, she right. The only question left is what kind of self-righteous tantrum Goldberg will throw in response.

-- Leslie Gornstein

Top photo: Whoopi Goldberg at a news conference in Vienna, Austria, on July 17. Credit: Miguel Villagran / Getty Images

Bottom photo: Gloria Allred at a news conference in L.A. on June 18. Credit: David Livingston / Getty Image